Chad Orzel's German shepherd, Emmy, trots up, demanding to know where her bone is. "I have no idea where your bone is," Orzel says, "but I can tell you exactly how fast it's moving."

The joke refers to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, which says that the less precisely we know a particle's position, the more accurately we know its momentum, and vice versa. Emmy is not amused.

Talking quantum physics with a dog may seem a tad eccentric, but Orzel's new book is a true delight to read. Orzel, a blogger and physics professor at Union College in New York, explains all the weird and wonderful features of the quantum world through conversations with Emmy – and even though it's gimmicky, it works.

"Dogs come to quantum physics in a better position than most humans," Orzel writes. "They approach the world with fewer preconceptions than humans, and always expect the unexpected…If dog treats appeared out of empty space in the middle of a kitchen, a human would freak out, but a dog would take it in stride. indeed, for most dogs, the spontaneous generation of treats would be vindication – they always expect treats to appear at any moment for no obvious reason."

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